Journal of International Law & Human Rights

Rights of Accused Persons in Pakistan and Compatibility with International Human Rights Standards.

2026-10-07T19:21:07+01:00

Pakistan recognizes liberty, access to counsel, protection against compelled self-incrimination, and fair trial within its constitutional framework. The practical availability of these guarantees nevertheless requires examination beyond the existence of legal provisions. This article develops a doctrinal and comparative analysis from a doctoral thesis on accused persons’ rights, supplemented by verified legislation, recent institutional statistics, and international monitoring documents. It evaluates compatibility across normative recognition, procedural safeguards, institutional delivery, and effective remedies. The analysis identifies an implementation gap involving prolonged detention, restricted access to legal assistance, custodial abuse, and weak coordination between justice institutions. Recent evidence places the reported under-trial share of the prison population at 73.41% in 2024, while the judicial statistics overview records 2,371,389 pending cases across superior and district courts at year end. These administrative aggregates establish institutional pressure but cannot determine the lawfulness of individual detention decisions. Pakistan’s Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2022, represents legislative progress; remaining concerns include its treatment of mental suffering and the practical independence of investigation. Comparative examination of England and Wales, the United States, and India supports selective adaptation of custody safeguards, defense workload planning, and detention review mechanisms. The article proposes early legal assistance, documented judicial scrutiny of remand, independent medical assessment, protected complaint procedures, and transparent monitoring of outcomes. It concludes that compatibility is partial and uneven: constitutional recognition provides a necessary foundation, while enforceable procedures and accessible remedies determine whether accused persons can actually exercise their rights.

Global Warming and Climate Vulnerability in South Asia: A Qualitative Analysis of Extreme Weather, Himalayan Instability, and Human Security

2026-10-06T18:03:02+01:00

Climate change, with its effects on global warming, has become a major environmental and human security issue for South Asia, which is densely populated, sensitivity to climate, having socioeconomic inequalities and low adaptive capacity. This study qualitatively looks at the symptoms and impacts of global warming in south Asia especially extreme weather events, instability in the Himalayas, climate vulnerability and human security. A qualitative descriptive-interpretive research design is used and secondary data are drawn from peer-reviewed academic research, international and regional organisation reports, government and policy documents and credible contemporary news. Qualitative document analysis and thematic analysis are used to detect common themes on extreme heat, floods, droughts, glacier and snow loss, water insecurity, livelihood disruption, displacement and infrastructure vulnerability. Results show that global warming is aggravating interconnected and cascading South Asian risks, while vulnerable communities are disproportionately suffering social, economic, environmental, and human-security impacts. The 2026 disaster in the Nepal Himalayas is particularly emphasized as a case of recent cryospheric instability, extreme terrain, exposed infrastructure and low preparedness that can lead to severe humanitarian effects. But, although disasters cannot be blamed entirely on global warming, the evidence suggests that a changing climate is impacting the environmental context in which these hazards happen. The study also shows that uneven exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity and responsibility contribute to the distribution of climate-related risks, when interpreted in the Climate Vulnerability and Climate Justice Framework. The study calls for a combination of integrated adaptation, functioning early-warning systems, regional cooperation, climate-resilient infrastructure, and climate finance and technology to make South Asia more resilient to climate change.